Carpet sweeper



1941. J. w. SCOTT ET AL, [2,251,467

CARPET SWEEPER Filed Aug. 5, 1939 INVENTOR. Y cfafi/r 14X 600/7 BY Free14 Pw/z/z i WATTORNEYJ.

Patented Aug. 5, 1941 CARPET SWEEPER.

John W. Scott and Fred W. Pullen, Grand Rapids, Mich, assignors toBissell Carpet Sweeper 00.,

Grand Rapids, Mich.

Application August 5, 1939, Serial No. 288,560

7 Claims.

- This invention relates to improvements in carpet sweepers.

This invention relates to carpet sweepers and particularly to the meansfor yieldingly holding the handle of the sweeper in vertical positionwhen the sweeper is not in use.

Heretofore various means have been provided to accomplish this purpose.One of the commonest means consisted of a plate having projecting nibsengageable with the handle of the sweeper as it was moved to or fromvertical position. The metal employed in making the handle of thesweeper and the nibs was ordinarily relatively soft so that as soon asthe initial coat of oil on the parts wore oil, the parts began to wearand the wear continued so that in a very short time the nibs becameineiiective.

The objects of this invention are:

First, to provide a new and improved nibbing construction for carpetsweepers.

Second, to provide such a construction which obviates the abovedifiiculties.

Third, to provide such a structure in which anti friction means areprovided to eliminate or greatly reduce friction between the nibs andbail in a carpet sweeper.

Fourth, to provide such a construction which is inexpensive and highlyeffective.

Further objects and advantages pertaining to details and economies ofconstruction and operation will appear from the description to follow.Preferred embodiments of our invention are illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an end view of a carpet sweeper embodying our invention.

Fig. 2 is a detail view of the nib plate and arm of the bail in thesweeper shown in Fig. 1 with the bail in raised position.

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a blank employed in forming the anti-frictionmeans in the sweeper shown in Figs. 1-3.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. .3, showing a different type ofanti-friction means used in carrying out our invention.

The carpet sweeper I has the usual case 2, wheels 3 and brush 4. Thehandle 5 has the usual bail 6 with bail arms I pivoted to the ends 8 ofthe case with pivot nibs 9.

At It! we show a nib plate which has nibs ll projecting therefrom intothe path of movement of the bail as it is moved to or from verticalposition. These nibs are located one On each side of the bail when it isin vertical position and serve to hold the bail in vertical position. Inthe particular form of invention shown, the bail is slightly resilientand is able to slide over the nibs because of this as the handle ismoved to or from vertical position. The actual movement is shown indotted lines in Fig. 3.

On the arm 1 of the bailv and retained on the portion of the bail whichmoves past the nibs H is a sleeve l2 which embraces and is rotatablymounted on the arm. This sleeve consists of a strip of metal [3 havingone end recessed at M and the other end formed at l5 to provideinterengaging means. After the ring is moved on the bail arm 1, means l6are provided by deforming the metal of the bail to retain the sleeve inposition to engage the nibs. It will be apparent that when the bail isswung to or from vertical position, the sleeve I2 will rotate as thenibs engage it so as to materially reduce friction and wear, thusassuring a proper supporting of the handle in vertical position for aconsiderable period of time during the use of the carpet sweeper. Theparticular form of sleeve with the interengaging means l4 and I5 hasproven quite effective because there is no tendency for the sleeve toopen up at the seam during use.

In Fig. 5, we show a modified form of the invention. The plate H0 isprovided with recesses I! on either side of the bail arm I01 when it isin vertical position. These recesses are apertured at l8 and balls IIIare confined behind the plate H0 and between the end of the case and theplate. The balls are free to rotate and project through the openings 18sufliciently to engage the bail as it moves to or from verticalposition. Upon engagement of the bail with the balls, the balls rotate,thus eliminating friction. If de sired, the balls may restdirectlygagainst the end of the case or may have a wear plate l9therebehind.

It will be apparent that this arrangement of parts is simply and easilyinstalled and that it may be produced at a minimum of expense.

We have shown two forms of our invention, but it will be apparent thatother forms of invention could be made and We do not wish to be limitedto the two specific forms shown. We have defined the invention in theclaims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a carpet sweeper having a case and a handle with a bail having itsarms pivotally engaging the ends of the case, bail engaging nibsprojecting from the end of the case on opposite sides of an arm of thebail when it is in vertical position, a sleeve rotatably mounted on andembracing said arm of the bail, said sleeve comprising a strip of metalwrapped around said arm and having its ends formed with interlockingmeans thereon, and means holding said sleeve in position to engage saidnibs as the bail is moved to or from vertical position, whereby saidsleeve rotates on said arm as the nibs are engaged.

2. In a carpet sweeper having a case and a handle with a bail having itsarms pivotally engaging the ends of the case, bail engaging nibsprojecting from the end of the case on opposite sides of an arm of thebail when it is in vertical position, a sleeve rotatably mounted on andembracing said arm of the bail, and means holding said sleeve inposition to engage said nibs as the bail is moved to or from verticalposition, whereby said sleeve rotates on said arm as the nibs areengaged.

3. In a carpet sweeper, the combination of a pivoted handle, nibslocated in the path of movement of the handle as it is moved to or fromvertical position and engageable therewith, and a sleeve rotatablymounted on said handle, and means for holding said sleeve in position toengage said nibs as the handle is moved to or from vertical position.

4. In a carpet sweeper, the combination of a pivoted handle, nib meansengaging said handie as it is moved to or from vertical position and tohold said handle in vertical position, said handle and nib meansincluding anti-friction rotatable ball means operable as antifrictionbearing means between said handle and nib means upon engagement of thehandle and nib means during movement of the handle to reduce friction.

5. In a carpet sweeper having a case, and a handle with a bail havingits arms pivotally engaging the ends of the case, a nib plate on the endof the case between the bail and the case when the bail is in verticalposition and having recesses on opposite sides of the bail when it is invertical position, each recess being apertured, and a ball in eachrecess projecting through said aperture sufficiently to engage the armof the bail when it is pivotally moved on the sweeper.

6. In a carpet sweeper having a case and a handle with a bail having itsarms pivotally engaging the ends of the case, bail engaging nibsprojecting from the end of the case on opposite sides of an arm of thebail when it is in vertical position, said nibs each comprising a ballprojecting from the end of the case to engage the bail as it is moved toor from vertical position, and means confining said balls on the end ofthe case in such a manner as to permit rotation of the balls whenengaged by the arm of the bail upon movement thereof.

7. In a carpet sweeper, the combination of a pivoted handle, and a pairof nibs projecting into the path of movement of the handle on oppositesides thereof when the handle is in vertical position, comprising a pairof balls and means for holding said balls in position while permittingrotation thereof upon engagement with said handle in its movement to orfrom vertical position.

JOHN W. SCOTT. FRED W. PULLEN.

